Bishops expected to go

Senior reporter

Wednesday 6 March 2013

TWO more of Scotland's ageing bishops are expected to be stood down by the summer, as a leading Catholic voice has predicted the wake of the Cardinal Keith O'Brien scandal will be a priority for the next Pope.

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GERRY BRAIDEN

Bishop of Motherwell Joe Devine and his counterpart in the Diocese of Galloway, John Cunningham, have submitted their resignations having both turned 75 in recent months but have been expected to hang on until replacements are found.

In the case of a former Glasgow archbishop this took three years.However, the crisis following the revelations of Cardinal O'Brien's "inappropriate behaviour" towards young priests in the 1980s and his subsequent admissions of sexual behaviour, on top of collapsing morale across the Catholic Church, are understood to have accelerated the need for change in Scotland.There were claims in clerical circles yesterday that administrators could be appointed to both dioceses immediately after the appointment of the new Pope, giving both bishops the opportunity to stand down within weeks. It comes as there were further calls for the reform of the church in Scotland and for the reduction in the number of dioceses from eight to either five or four. The move has been championed in recent days by St Andrews philosophy professor John Haldane as a way of addressing the shortage of bishops, priests and funds to run parishes.Speculation is continuing that well-regarded Scots based at the Vatican, including the last Pope's translator, Monsignor Leo Cushley, and Monsignor Patrick Burke, who works at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, could return to Scotland.With the investigation into Cardinal O'Brien's conduct already under way, senior Catholic figures have told of their hopes that the inquiry findings will be made public, while others have expressed concern at the impact of the scandal on the cardinal's health. Others within the church have claimed there has been a lack of leadership "which hasn't gone unnoticed across the clergy". Meanwhile, leading peer and QC Baroness Helena Kennedy said it was "torture" for the Roman Catholic Church to force priests who wanted to have a sex life to be celibate, speaking also of the "huge compassion" she feels towards Cardinal O'Brien.Lady Kennedy, who was brought up in Glasgow as a Roman Catholic, said: "He himself has said he was involved in sexual activity and I feel very sad that was something he had to in some way bury, then give expression to – then feel shame and guilt and presumably is absolutely covered with guilt now."I feel very sad for him and for his victims."She was speaking at the launch in the House of Commons of the Catholic scholars declaration on authority in the Church.The group has said the Catholic faithful have suffered from "misguided" church rulings on sexual ethics, including contraception, homosexuality and remarriage.It has called for a new pope to introduce more democracy in the church.Liz Leydon, editor of the Scottish Catholic Observer, said: "I fully believe the new pope will make Scotland a priority given the crisis, and that's long overdue. These vacancies have been known of for a long time and yet we don't have any replacements."Meanwhile, Lothian and Borders Police have dismissed claims that a complaint lodged by controversial celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman regarding the cardinal would lead to an investigation.

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Bishops expected to go

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